Cotton-press.



No. 629,345. Patent@ lul`y 25, |899.

F. L. sven. CDTTUNQPRESS.

I Application led Feb. 8, 1396.) (M ild| Y 4 sham-sheet 1.'

No. 629,345. Patentedluly 25, |899.

F. L. avan. v

COTTON PRESS.

(Application led Feb. B, [896.)

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mi evo ed.

N0.l 629,345. l Patented luly 2 5, i899.

F. L. mlm.- (IOTTIJNy PRESS.

(Applicatqn Bled Feb. 8, 1896K.) (l0 IIMBIJ 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

No. 629,345. Patented my 25V, |899.

F. L, nvn. COTTON PRESS.

(Application #led Feb. 8, 189B.)

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' ing cylindrical bales, and the specific type of" those presses to which the invention has esi pecial reference is that invented by JohnY.2`

. press is an endless belt, a portion of-which isl` UNITED STATE-Sg PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK L. prize, or WASHINGTON, DIsTRIcT or coLUMBIA, AssIeNon To TI-IE AMERICAN coTToN coMPANY, ,or New YORK, N. Y.

corroN-Paiass.Y

SPECIFICATION forming part or Letters raient' No. cesga-.tanned .fury 25, 1899. Application met Bamm 8,1896. sem-Laia'. trasse; (No man.)

to make and use the same. The cotton-presses to which my invention relate are those which are designed for mal;-

Graves, described and claimed in Letters Pat-l ent of theUnited States,A dated December 3, 1893,nnmbered, respectively, 510,385, v(510,586, 510,387, and 510,388...

The distinguishing feature of the Graves formed into a loop or bight wherein the bale is gradually accu mulated by the partial Winding of a continuous sheet or bat of-,cotto'n upon a core stationed in said loop or hight, the bale being at the same timesnbjectedto pressure imposedby the belt. In. order to impose the requisite Y tension `on, thebeltand effect the pressing 'ofthe bale, altension-roller is employed, kmounted. in said belt, and to' which a' weight 0r, similar device isoonnected. It has been found from Aactmal experience that a belt made of steel links is 'preferabletoany other form of belt. f A cotton-press of the Graves type is of especial advantage in practical use for the reason that most of the surface of the bale is at all times subjected to pressure, whereas in the different forms of roller-presses Vv vhich succeeded the invention of Grave-s the,V bale is subjected to pressure at only@ small ,portion of lits surface, and therefore the bale tends to expand at its portions which are notsubjected to pressure, so that not onlyis the diameter of the bale limited, but toward the end of its operation it is liable to be more or less fluffy.

The principal objectionti'o the use of a belt as described by Graves when a link vbelt is employed is that the constant movement of ment of the invention.

`Y,Intentv w The cotton-press. which. f0rms5-thesubjet of the present application is designed for comthe links vof the belt in passing over the varous supporting-rollers andv aroundv the bale while the belt'is subjected to great tension tends to quickly Wear ont the belt, soas to ldestroy its usefulness. Y 5 5.

In Leners Patentino.' 591,334, "daten october ,5,189,7', for cotton-presses, l described certain ,improvements made by me on the Graves 1 press, byreason of which not only will the life of the belt be much prolonged, but also the .press can be made much lighter and can be operated with lessv power. The broad principleunderlying that invention made by me,

-as described ,inY said patent, was the application of tension to only a portion of the belt,

preferably that portion thereof which sur- ;rounds the' bale, the remaining portion of the belt not being subjected to any tension other than its Weight. Athus'broadl y stated might be more easily comprehended, I illustrate in said patent a very conventional form of press, giving no regard In order that the principle to commercial requirements and makingno eort to describe the best practical embodi- 75 My present invention Vrelates to improvements .in cotton-presses, wherein I seekto ycarry forward in a more commercial and practieal form thesuggestions whichwere, so far as I am aware, given for the first time in said 8o mercial use' andY possesses many advantages over any press for themanufacture of cylindrical bales with which I am familiar. Compared with anyof such presses it isvery'much lighter and cheaper and can be operated-with the expenditure of very much less power. Compared with the various roller f presses heretofore invented employing tworolls or a plurality of rolls it has the advantage of the Graves press inasmuch as the pressure is more evenly distributed over the bale and is applied to almost the entire surface thereof. Compared with the Graves press it has the advantages pointed out in my said application vin that the belt is subjected to very much less Wear and its life is therefore corresponde ingly prolonged. lo@

ing the driving-gears removed and illustrating the position of the parts at the completion of the bale; Fig. 2, a plan View thereof; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the press; Fig. 4, a section on the line of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a longitudinal sectional view showing the swinging arms in their downward position and illustrating the completed bale part way out of the press; Fig. 6, a longitudinal sectional View illustrating the position of the parts when the bale is partially formed, the bed being removed; Fig. 7, an enlarged sectional View on the line y y of Fig. 3; Fig. 8, a section on the line z z of Fig. 7, and Fig. 9 a detail View illustrating a convenient manner of applying a leather or other suitable friction surface to the brake when a' brake is used.

In all of the above views corresponding parts are represented by the same referencenumerals. v

1- l represent the side frames of the machinewhich may be of the form shown and which are held rigidly together by suitable web-plates 2 and 3,-arranged at convenient points. Preferably these side frames are bolted toa heavy bed-plate 4, which may be cast in one piece,said bed-plate being stiifened by cross-braces 5, 6, and 7cast therewith. If

desired,said bed-plate may be dispensed with and the side frames 1 1 be carried upon suitable skids or in any other way. (See Fig. 6.)

8 8 are two swinging arms hinged to the side frame 1 by suitable joints 9. These joints 9 need not be as heavy as in the crossbraces, because there is little or no strain on them.

In Ao rder to suitably stilfen the side frames 1, a web 10 may be cast all around its edge, and for a similar purpose a web 11 may be cast around the upper portion of each arm 8, as'shown. The webs 11 do not extend entirely around the arms, but are cut away at the lower portions thereof in order to allow said arms to swing down between the side frames 1 to the position shown in Fig. 5.

Preferably each arm 8 is provided with an integral nose or peak 12 at its upper portion, which fits within a recess 13, formed in each -side frame 1, so that when the swinging arms 8 are moved to their normal positions and locked any strains thereon tending to elevate or depress them will be taken up by these interlocking portions 12 and 13.

In order to hold the two arms 8 S together and cause them to move simultaneously, I

connect them by a suitable cross-piece 14, as shown particularly in Figs. 5 and 6. Eachv arm 8 is provided at its upper portion with a pair of lugs or ears 15, with which a bar 16 engages, said bar being supported by heavy links 17, pivoted lo eyes 18 of the side frames 1. When the bar 16 is brought down i`n front of the ears 15, the links 17 fit between each pair of ears, as shown in Fig. 2.

19 is a lever on the end of the bar 16, which may be turned so as to rollthe bar 16 up on the ear 15 and disengage the swinging arms S when the bale is to be removed. The general arrangement of these swinging arms S and the locking device therefor are not my invention, and I do not claim the same broadly.

Mounted in suitable heavy bearing-boxes 2O in the arms 8 is a shaft 21, to which is keyed a sprocket-roller 22, having teeth arranged to engage with the links of the belt and which is made in any suitable way.

23 is a shaft carried in removable boxes 24 on the frames 1 in line with the shaft 2l and having a similar sprocket-roller 25 keyed thereto.

26 is a gear-wheel keyed to the shaft 2l, preferably on the outside of one of the arms 8, and meshing therewith is a preferably smaller gear-wheel or pinion 27 on the shaft 28, mounted in boxes 29 at the extreme upper end of the side frames 1. The pinion 27 may be either turned loosely on the shaft 23 or on a suitable supporting-pin therefor; but preferably said pinion is keyed to said shaft so that said shaft will rotate. It is obvious that a gear-wheel may be secured to the other l end of. the sprocket-roller 22 and be driven from a corresponding pinionA keyed to the other end of the shaft 28.

29 is a gear-wheel the same size of the gearwheel 26, keyed to the shaft 23, which carries the sprocket-roller 25.

In Fig. 7 in order that the operation of the parts may be better followed out I have shown the gear-wheel 29 keyed to the shaft 23 on the outside of the frame; but it willbe desirable in practice to key the gear-wheel 29' on the inside'of the frame in order that the gear-wheels employed may be brought as near as possibleup to the frame.

30 is agear-wheel which in this instance is loosely' mounted on the shaft 23 outside of the gear-wheel 29', being held in place by a thin collar 31 and meshing with the pinion 27.

32 is a shaft extending across the framework and mounted in bearings 33. Keyed to this shaft is a `pinion 34, which meshes with the gear-wheel 29'.

35 is a large gear-wheel made, preferably, as large as practicable, keyed to the shaft 32, preferably at its outer end.

36 is a pinion the same size as the pinion 34, cast with the sleeve 37, mounted loosely on the shaft 32 between the gear-wheel 35 and the pinion 34. A

3S is a gear-wheel keyed to said sleeve 37. The pinion 36 meshes with the gear-wheel 30.

39 is a shaft extending across the framework mountedin suitable bearings 40. Keyed to this shaft 39 is a pinion 41, which meshes with the gear-wheel 33. 42 is another pinion,

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ceases Le in this instance the same size as the pinion 41, cast integral with the sleeve 43 and turning loosely on the shaft 49. Keyedto said sleeve 43 is one of the elements 44 of a brake device. The other element of said brake device is keyed tothe shaft 39 bythe key 46,

but in this instance is free to move longitudinally on said Shaft.

When the brake device is employed and it is not desired to gradually increase the tension on the belt, the element 45 of the brake device may be keyed immediately on said kshaft 39 and be arranged inv substantially the same way as I have shown in Fig. 4of my said patent; but when it is desired to gradually increase the tension on the belt it is desirable to move the element 45 of the brake device with respect to the element 44 th'ereof, so as to increase the friction between the parts. A convenient arrangement by which lthis may be done is shown in Fig. 7; but it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to any such arrangement, nor do I wish to be limited to a brake device for applying tension on the belt, since a multitude of devices may beempioyed for this purposesuch, for example, as a pneumatic or hydrauof which a continuous solid web may be employed, as willbe obvious.

48 is a reduced portion of the shaft 39, having screw-threads thereon, and 49 is a uut working on said screw-threaded portion. A locking-nut 50 prevents the nut 49 from becoming entirely disengaged from said screwthreaded lshaft 48, and a hand-wheell 5l or crank is employed for the purpose of turning said n ut '49 when desired.

52 is a plate Working loosely in the sleeve- 46 and loosely on the screw-threaded shaft 4S and having a reduced bearing portion 53, which works against the face of the nut 49.

54- is a heavy spiral spring-mounted within the sleeve .46 and seated between the .element 45 of the brake devicefand the plate 52 referred to.

The outer face of the nut 49 is provided with a series of teeth 55, extending the entire Alength of said nut, and engaging with any one of said teeth is a small finger 56, carried by the outer end of the sleeve 46 and'having a small handle 57 for bringing it into engagement with said teeth and for elevating it out of said engagement. 58 is a spring for keeptrate.

face of the element 44 orto the outer inclined face of the element 45, the latter arrangement being preferable and that which I illus- In order that this leather surface may be applied in position, a convenient arrangement (shown in Fig. 9) is to cut away the rim of the element 45, so as to form a recess 59 therein, beneath which is ahollow ear 60, cast with theface of the element 45.

61 is a triangular-shaped block extending the entire width of the outer inclined face of the element 45 and having a screw-threaded stem 62 projecting outwardly therefrom through the ear 60. 63 is a nut on said stem by means of which the triangular block 61 may be drawn tightly down into the recess 59, so as to rmly clamp the free ends of the leather or other surface 64, as will be readily understood.

65 represents the belt, which is of the proper length, which is continuous, and which is made preferably of steel links in any suitable way, so as to be driven by the sprocketrollers 22 and 25, respectively. Commencing at the sprocket-roller 25 this belt extends down under the shaft 32, thence over a guideroller 66, thence through an opening 67 in the web-plate 2 and in the top of the bedplate 4 when used, thence Within said bedplate up through .its forward end, around a guide-roller 68, carried Ain extensions 69 of the swinging arms 8, thence up and under a shaft 70, carried in boxes 71 on said swinging arms, thence around the sprocket-roller 22, thence down into the machine,` so as to form a loop orbight 72, (see Fig. 6,) Within which the bale is formed. Preferably, aheavy core 73 is employed, mounted within said loop or bight and carried in heavy bearings,74 in the side frames l. By preference I also employ end ilanges 75, which serve to build up the ends of the bale, and keep them flat, which end flanges are provided with heavy sleeves 76, which work in said bearings 74. When the end anges 75 are employed, the core 73 is mounted in said sleeves 76. At one end of the core a key 77 may be employed, and at the other end a collar 78 may be employed, so that the end flanges 75 will be securely held on said core against expansion. I am not the rst to employ a core of this character or to use end flanges such as I have shown and I therefore do not claim the same.

Preferably some suitable mechanism is used for withdrawing the core from the bale after the bale has been made 5 but I do vnot show any mechanism for this purpose, as such illustration might be confusing. A steam or hydraulic cylinder such as I have described and claimed in my application filed .I une 20, 1.895, Serial No. 553,670, maybe conveniently used for this purpose.-

In operating, the friction of the belt on the shaft 7) may be sufficient to rotate said shaft; but in order to be certain on this point I prefer tomount a gear-wheel 79 on the end of said shaft meshing with the gear-wheel 26,

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so that said shaft will be positively driven. S0 is a driving-pulley keyed to the shaft 39 .and by which power is applied to the press.

My invention operates as follows: In starting the bale the iirst few inches in diameter of the` bale are formed while the arms 8 are in their lowered position, as shown in Fig. 5, the belt being in contact or substantially in contact with the core 73. plied to the band-wheel 80, the .pinion 4l is driven directly by said shaft, and the pinion 42' is driven by the friction between the elements of the brake device, as will be understood. These pinions drive the large gearwheels 35 and 38, and said gear-wheels drive the pinions. 34 and 361 The pinion 34 drives the gear-wheel 29', so as to positively drive the sprocket-roller 25. The pinion 36 drives the'gear-wheel 30, which in turn drives the pinion 27; but since the arms 8 are in their lowered position the gear-wheel 26 is not in engagement with said pinion 27, so that in the starting of the bale the pinion 41, gear- Wheel 38, pinion 36, gear-wheel 30, and pinion 27 may be disregarded. The sprocketroller 25 being driven as explained, the endlesslbelt will be caused totravel in the proper direction, and the endless sheet or bat of cotton is 'then fed to the belt immediately in front of the core 73 when used, so as to be partially wound around said core. The pressure which will be applied to the inner layers ofthe bale in this way will. therefore be very slight; but this is desirable, since there is great danger of the cotton becoming caked on the. core. When sufficient cotton has been thus wound around the core, the swinging arms 8 are moved upward, so as to engage the gear-wheel 26 with the pinion 27, and said arms 8 are locked in that position by means of the bar 16 engaging in front of the ears l5. When in this position, therefore,

both the sprocket-rollers 22 and 25 will be driven, the sprocket-roller 25 being driven by the pinion 42, the gear-wheel 35, pinion 34, and gear-wheel 29', and the sprocket-roller 22 being driven by the pinion 41', gear-wheel 3S, pinion 36, gear-wheel 30, pinion 27, and gear-wheel 26. Cotton in the shape of a continuous sheet or bat continues to be fed into;

'22 is allowed for by the differential connection between the two sprocket-rollers and will take place only when the'pressure wi thin the loop or bight isv sufficient to overcome the friction between the two elements. of the brake. It will therefore berseen that while r the brake device is bein grapidly rotated and,

Iower being aple cede/is `if made sufiiciently heavy, may serveas an effective fly-wheel, yet at: the same time the two elements of the brake device aremoved with respect to each other according tothe enlargement of the loop or bight. By interposing atrain of gears between the brake del Vice and the sprocket-rollers, as I have ei;- plained, I am enabled to use a much smaller brake device and to usey very much lessfric'# tion therein, so that the amount of pressure applied. to the bale can be more conveniently regulated. If, for instance, the shaft 39 turns thirty times faster than the sprocket-rollers 22 and 25,disregard.ing the difference in speed between said sprocket-rollers, then if a presL sure of thirty thousand pounds is to be applied within the loop or bight the friction between the two elements of the brake device needl only be one thousand pounds.

It will of course be understood that a greater or less number of gears may be interposed between the brake and the sprocketrollers, whereby the amount of friction required can be made very small. I consider this a very valuable point in my invention and lay especial stress on it.

Having now described myi'nvention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent., is as follows: l

1. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination of an endless belta portion of which is formed into a loop or bi-ght, a core stationed in said loop or bight and on which the bale is formed, two end flanges rotating with said core and abutting against the ends of the bale, two rollers to which said belt is positively connected, a main drivingshaft and gearingv connecting said drivingshaft with said rollers, and constructed to allow one of said rollers to rotate faster than the other, substantially as set forth.

2. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination of an endless belt a portion of which is formed into a loop or bight, a core stationed in said loopy or bight and on which the bale is formed, end flanges rotating with said core, and abutting against the ends of the bale, two rollers to` which said belt is positively connected, a main driving-shaft, a friction device carried on said shaft, gearing connecting said driving-shaft with one of said rollers, and gearing connecting said friction device with the other of said rollers, whereby as the loopv or bight enlarges, one of said rollers will be allo-wed to rotate faster than the other, substantially as set forth.

3. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination with the side frames, a roller mounted at the top thereof, swinging arms hinged to said side frames, the upper ends of said swinging arms interlocking with the side frames, a roller carried at the top of said swinging arms, and an endless belt pass- IOO IIO

ing over said rollers and formed into a loop or bight, substantially as s et forth.

4. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination with the side frames,

629,345 Y l* s a roller mounted at the top thereof, swinging arms hinged to said side frames, a roller carried at the top of said swinging arms, an extension or nose Yon each of said swinging arms, engaging a recess in the side frames, and an endless belt passing over said rollers and formed into a loop or bight, substantially as set forth.

5. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination with an endless belt a portion of which is formed into a loop or bight, a core stationed in said loop or bight and on which the bale is formed, end flanges rotating with said core and abutting against the ends of the bale, two rollers to which said belt is positively connected, means for driving both of said rollers, a brake device inter- `posed between said rollers, whereby one of said rollers will be allowed to rotate faster than the other, and means for gradually increasing the resistance of said brake device as the loop or bight enlarges, substantially as set forth.

6. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, the combination of the side frames, a roller mounted at the top thereof, swinging arms hinged to said side frames, a roller carried by the upper ends of said swinging arms, an endless belt passing over said rollers and to which the belt is positively connected, a gear-wheel carried by the roller mounted in said swingingarms, and meshing with a gearwheel carried in said side frames, whereby as said swinging arms are moved outwardly said gear-wheels will be disengaged, substantially as set forth. Y

7. In a cotton-press for making cylindrical bales, thelcombination of an endless'belt a portion of whichis formed into aloop or bight, two rollers stationed at the entrance of said r loop or bight and to which the belt is posiportion of which is formed into a loop 0r bight,

two rollers stationed at the entrance of said .loop or bight and to which said belt is positively connected, a gear-wheel 29 on the shaft of one of said rollers, a gear-wheel 26 on the shaft of the other of said rollers, a main driving-shaft 39, a pinion 41 keyed to said main Y driving-shaft, a gear 38 and pinion 34 connecting said pinion 41 with the gear-wheel 29' for driving one roller, a brake device carried on the shaft 39, a pinion 42 driven from said brake device, and gear-wheels 35, 30 and pinions 36 and 27 connecting the pinion 42 with the gearwheel 26 for driving the other roller, substantially as set forth. y

9.l In a brake device for applying tension in cotton-presses and similar structures, the combination of the element 44, the element 45, the screw-threaded shaft 4S turning with the element 45, the sleeve 46' turning with the element 44, the nut 50 engaging with said shaft 48, a connection between said nut and the sleeve 46', and a spring 54 interposed between said nut and the element 45, substantially as set forth.

10. In a brake device for applying tension in cotton-presses and similar structures, the combination of the element 44, the element 45, a screw-threaded shaft 4S turning with the element 45, a sleeve 46' turning with the element 44, the nut 50 engaging with said shaft 48, a connection between .said nut and the sleeve 46', the washer 52 bearing against said nut, and a spring 54 interposed between the element 45 and the washer, substantially as set forth.

This specication signed and witnessed this 8th day of February, 1896. A

FRANK L. DYER.

Witnesses:

PHILIP F. LARNER, ARCHIE G. Rnnsn. 

